Prosecution claims cash flowed to alleged Bonanno crime boss

By Mira Wassef |

MANHATTAN, N.Y.— The money flowed
up to the "old boss."

Any proceeds from gambling and
loansharking activities eventually made its way through the Bonanno crime
family hierarchy and landed in alleged mob boss Nicholas Santora's hands, the
prosecution claimed during the Bonanno mob trial Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme
Court.

Santora, 73, along with three
alleged Bonanno associates -- Anthony "Skinny" Santoro, 52, of Great
Kills, Vito Badamo, 53, and Ernest Aiello, 36 -- are on trial for enterprise
corruption, including loansharking, gambling and drug dealing. They were busted
in July 2013.

Detective Angelo Barone testified
that Santoro and Badamo would take care of collecting money from the alleged
illegal activities before giving it to "Captain Crunch" or "iron
boss," which were Santora's nicknames.

"The money goes up,"
the detective testified. "Santoro collects the money, gives it to Badamo
and a piece goes to Santora."

The state claims Santora is the
crime family's ringleader. The prosecution says he was in charge of an Internet
gambling site, sold prescription drugs, such as oxycodone and Viagra, on the
black market, and the other three defendants were his underlings.

In a series of audio recordings,
texts and surveillance, Santoro and Badamo were caught either talking about the
gambling debt owed to them or exchanging money during their alleged meetings,
Barone said.

In one recording, Santoro says he
will take Badamo to the house of the man who owes them cash and in another wire
tapped call Santoro refers to "iron," which is a mob reference to
cash, the prosecution alleges.

In another conversation, Santoro
and Badamo discuss taking care of the situation before it got to "front
street."

"That means they wanted to
take care of it before Santora got involved," Barone said.

Michael Alber, Santora's
attorney, questioned Barone's analysis of the evidence and how he determined
the money flow went to his client.

"Did you see anyone give
Santora money?" Alber asked.

"No," Barone replied.

"When you recovered all
materials from all the search warrants at the respective houses, did you see
any reference to "Captain Crunch" in any of the documents you
recovered?" Alber asked the detective.

"No," Barone said.

Santora, Alber also argued, is
not shown in any government surveillance.

Badamo's attorney, Joseph
Donatelli, said the state recovered no evidence of gambling activity when they
searched his client's home and car.

"You believed you would find
evidence?" Donatelli asked Barone.

"I was incorrect," the
detective replied.

But, Badamo, nicknamed
"Uncle Chap," was recorded talking to another Bonanno associate,
Dominick Siano, about the raid.

"Uncle Chap, we got big
problems," Siano says on the tape. "They got my computer, It shows I
went onto the site (the alleged illegal Internet gambling site the Bonanno's
ran.)

"Who else was hit by the
search warrants?" Badamo asks.

Badamo's reply, the prosecution
says, proves he knew about the illegal gambling site.